Could It Be?

"Another hour, another meeting", Thina silently thought as she was driving to meet with yet another client.

All though she loved her job she couldn't help but be annoyed by the amount of time she spent on the road, driving from meeting to meeting. This particular client, however, was one of her favorites. She had actually gotten her current job through them. She had been their account manager with her previous employer and when the client decided to change advertising agencies they had recommended her to their new agency, her current employer.

The client was a big bank and Thina's current and previous agency handled their entire portfolio from personal banking to the investment arm of the bank. The bank's marketing team was a pleasure to deal with – they knew what they were doing, translated their vision of the bank and its business units into crystal clear briefs, and they were really a bunch of fun-loving and highly intelligent individuals. Every advertising account managers dream.

Today's meeting was for a new campaign for the private banking division. They has been voted the "Best Private Bank" in the country for the third time in a row and they wanted to make some noise about it.

Today's meeting was going to be a "heavy one" as Stella, the bank's marketing and advertising director, had put it. Apparently the Private Bank unit's new business director and strategy manager were going to attend the meeting, as well as the unit's marketing manager.

As much as Thina knew this client's business in and out she just could not wait for the meeting to come and go.

"Always happy to see you too, boss lady. And you definitely have to take me with you next time you go shopping. You look stunning, as always", replied Thina.

"Thank you. I promise I will as soon as you deliver a brilliant campaign for the Private Bank. They're such a pain. Don't get me wrong, they make a lot of money for the company but I don't understand why "the suits" have to attend meetings with the advertising agency. Their marketing manager knows their business, strategy, positioning, and mission in and out, so do I and ....",

"Erik, I'm Thina Kana, it's a pleasure to meet you", said Thina as she shook his hand and give him her business card.

Erik carefully studied the business card: "So you're Tina, just spelled with an H?", he replied, never bothering to look at Thina as he spoke.

"Yes, T-H-I-N-A, silent H, that's me.

"Ok, Tina with an H. I'm Erik with a "K". Erik Bekker.

As the meeting progressed

Erik:

"Hmm, I like this Thina chick. She's smart and so articulate.

"Her lips...and those eyes, they open up when she speaks excitedly. But actually they're shaped almost like an Asian person's eyes."

"I don't think we'll have a problem working with her – she's very easy on the eye and she's asking all the right questions. I also like the direction she's suggesting we take for this campaign."

Erik was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden and embarrassing realization that he had a hard-on.

"Great. Nice one Erik. Now you have to make sure the meeting drags on a little longer so that your rampant pecker can settle down"

He shifted uncomfortably on his chair, thinking about how embarrassing his situation is and thanking God that no one can actually see it while they are all seated.

*****

"Thank god it's over", Thina said to herself as she drove home.

The meeting had been a long one. Erik, it turns out, is the new Private Bank Business Director – a sales director in layman's terms. And he pretty much dictated the entire meeting. Thina had originally thought it strange when Stella mentioned that he and the strategy manager would be attending the meeting. Normally she would just meet with Stella, who was in charge of the entire group's marketing and advertising efforts, as well as the relevant business unit's marketing manager. But as soon as the meeting started she understood why "the suits" were there. Erik basically drove the meeting. He first explained why he and the Strategy Manager were there – to explain their business to Thina and to make sure that she understood where they are coming from.

Five minutes into his presentation Thina had actually silently prayed for the return of the old Business Director, wherever he was....probably deployed to some other unit in the bank...he never attended any of the "advertising agency meetings" – Thina relied on Stella and the Private Bank's marketing manager to brief her.

Erik the Nerd, hag prepared and gone through his presentation as if Thina didn't know what the Private Bank was all about: how they handle the day-to-day banking needs of high nett-worth and high-income clients, how they are the investment advisors to these "special and highly valued clients" blah blah blah...

Every time Stella explained what their aim with the new campaign was, Erik would jump in with an explanation of how the Private Bank was doing blah blah blah to add to Stella's statements.

"Thank God I read through the brief thoroughly and made notes of everything", Thina had actually thought to herself.

*****

"You're late"

"I'm so sorry, didn't you get my text message? I sent you one telling you I'd be a little late. Long late-afternoon meeting. Then I had to go home, shower and change. Happy birthday girl. I got you something", said Thina as she handed Michelle a wrapped gift.

"Thank you dahling, I forgive you for being late."

"Thanks your highness", replied Thina jokingly.

Michelle was a colleague of Thina's. Today was her birthday and she had invited Thina along with a couple of others from work to join her and her friends for dinner to celebrate her birthday. The two had a good working relationship and got along very well at work but never socialized outside of work so Thina was very surprised when Michelle invited her to dinner, to celebrate her birthday.

*****

Dinner was going well. Michelle had also invited her friends and everyone was getting along just fine – lots of alcohol, girl talk about work, men/boyfriends, being single and joking around.

Thina excused herself to go to the bathroom and Michelle decided to go with her.

As she was waiting in a queue to go into the unisex cubicles, Erik the Nerd walked out of one of the cubicles.

Just as he finished washing his hands Thina decide she would say "hi" to him, he was her client after all. Just as he was passing her:

"Hi Erik with a K"

"Hi..."

"Thina....my name is Thina. Thina from Rainmaker. Thina with an H. I met with you and Stella this afternoon." "God I need to stop talking too much", she silently added.

"Oh, yes, Tina with an H. I can't wait to see what your agency comes up with. We want to go big with this campaign, you know, make noise about the award we've just won – remind our clients why they're with us. And make the other guys wonder why they're not banking with us."

"Oh I'm sure our creative team will exceed your expectations. We'll get back to Stella next week and she'll update you on what we've come up with."

Thina silently noted that he was actually quite tall, something she never took note of this past afternoon. He also had grey eyes, also not noted this past afternoon, thanks to the spectacles he had been wearing Lovely grey eyes, piercing eyes. He also seemed friendlier – he had a smile, sort of. He wasn't wearing a jacket and his hair was a little out of place. Maybe it was because they were outside of the work environment but he actually looked quite cute tonight.

"Hi Erik, I'm Michelle. I work with Thina."

Thina, lost in her thoughts, had completely forgotten about Michelle, who was standing in the bathroom queue with her.

"Ok, so you didn't tell me your late-afternoon meeting was cute", said Michelle as she stood up and pulled her panties up.

"Erik?"

"Yes, Erik. And he was checking you out Thina."

"No Michelle, he wasn't checking me out. We have to be friendly with each other, he's my client . Besides, I don't think I look like his type".

"Ok, fine. Whatever", added Michelle as she straightened out her long and straight blond hair.

*****

Erik:

"Thina with an H has a lovely breasts and her skin looks good against that deep green she's wearing!"

"Lovely breasts? Hmmm, since when do you pay attention to black women and their breasts?"

"No, I'm not into black women. I just think she looks great. And she's more laid back tonight, unlike this past afternoon. Besides she looks young."

Erik was snapped out of his silent conversation with himself by the jeans-encased and nice backside of a woman walking past his table. As his eyes moved from her butt to the rest of her he realized that it was Thina, and Michelle was walking alongside her.

"From the gentleman two tables behind you", said the waiter as he placed another around of drinks on the table.

Everyone in Thina's table either turned and strained their eyes or just squinted and focused their eyes on the said table. At that very moment Erik raised his glass and silently mouthed "cheers",

"Why me? It's your birthday and this round is for you...for your birthday."

"No, it's not. He doesn't know me from a bar of soap. This is for you Thina."

"Thina, Michelle, Ladies. This might be a bit forward of me but would you like to join my friends and I at our table?"

"Of course we will", Michelle responded rapidly.

As the rest of the table were still trying to wrap their minds around Erik's sudden appearance and question, Michelle was up, clutch bag under her arm and drink in hand, commanding everyone else to gather themselves and their belongings.

After Erik introduced himself and his colleagues to the ladies who had just joined them, Michelle took upon herself to do the same for the girls, mentioning Thina lastly and telling the whole table that Erik, the host, was Thina's client.

******

Erik"

"Thina with an H smells good"

"Erik! You are into this black girl."

"No, I'm not! She was sitting right next to me and she just smells good, that's all. I could be smelling anyone from this distance or lack thereof."

"Great another hard-on. What is she doing to me? This is the second time I've had such a reaction from her. What is she doing to me?

I have to stop talking to myself. Why does this woman make me have conversations with myself in my own head?

*****

After hours of getting to know each other, joking around and drinking, the party was dissolving. One by one people excused themselves to go home.

And when Thina excused herself to go home Erik found himself volunteering to walk her to her car. As they were snaking their way through the restaurant towards the door he felt compelled to wrap his arm around her waist but stopped himself.

"Let's just stick to small talk and getting her to her car without causing a scene", he silently thought.

After reaching her car, she leaned against the door, facing him:

"Thank you, for walking me to my car and for inviting my friends and I to join you. We had a great time", Thina said. "Why is he standing so close to me?", she silently added.

Without any thought or doubt, Erik grabbed her, pulled her close to him and kissed her.

A long, deep, furious kiss.

Her initial shock made her unable to return his kiss but as soon as she regained her senses she found herself kissing him back. He held on to her tighter.

She lifted her one hand to the back of his head and shoved his face into hers.

She felt his hard-on and moaned.

His hands went for her butt. He pushed her against the car and her body made a sound as it slammed against it.

"You're so sexy, Thina with an H", Erik murmured while still kissing her.

"Uh huh", she replied.

Realizing that her body was actually on fire, what with the deep passionate kissing and raging erection pressed against her; Thina decided that she needed to come up for air.

After what seemed like eternity, she pulled back and pushed him away. He looked at her, as if he expected her sudden rejection and said:

"Is there a particular reason why your name is spelt with a silent H, Tina with an H?

"My name is Xhosa, Thina means "us" – my parents waited a long while before they had me and they're very much into this "us", "all of one" and "one for all" thing. Basically one is nothing without the others, it's all about "us".

"Ok, that's cool:, Erik replied, quickly realizing that he actually didn't know any Xhosa at all. He felt a little ashamed that this ethnic language was foreign to him even though it's so widely spoken in his country.

Why you are Erik with a K instead of a C?" she asked, sensing his sudden tensing. But he still stood so close to her she could feel his breath bounce against her skin.

"Oh, my father's name is Hendrik and I'm sort of named after him. My elder brother is Hendrik Jr. My parents couldn't exactly call me Endrik do they settled for Erik. I'm Afrikaner".

"Ok. That's nice", Thina replied.

"Hey, I don't want to keep you and get you in trouble with your boyfriend or something. I also have to go home soon. So goodnight Thina", Erik shifted uneasily from one leg to the other as he said this.

"No one 's waiting up for me, it's just me."

"That's good...I mean OK"

"Goodnight Erik. I had a great time"

"Me too. Goodnight", Erik hugged her as he said this.

******

Erik

"Idiot. You kiss her , nearly rip her clothes off in the middle of a parking lot, and then make small talk about your names? Is that the best you can do", Erik asked himself as he walked to his car.

"Now she probably thinks you're weird."

"Get a grip of yourself, she a beautiful and smart black woman. She's probably not into you. Besides, thanks to the history of this country you live in almost all black people probably hate your people, the Afrikaners...they blame you for apartheid and their centuries of suffering."

"She so sexy and beautiful and easy to talk to though. I get a hard on practically everytime I focus on her for more than two minutes."

"Why didn't I hang out with more black people when I was growing up maybe if I used to their company and cultures this feeling that this woman gives me wouldn't feel so damn..."

"God she sexy, I wonder how she is."

"Have to check is she got home safe."

Meanwhile, Thina was also having a mini conversation with herself as she drove home:

"That was weird. He's a client and he's white!"

"But he's so good looking and such a good kisser."

"Easy girl, this was a once-off thing. Next week you have to be on top of your game again at work. So forget tonight."

Just as she reached her apartment, she got a text message:

HOPE U GOT HOME SAFE, ERIK.

"I DID, THANKS" was her response.

After walking into her apartment, as she was kicking her shoes off, another text message: I ALSO WENT HOME AFTER SEEING YOU OFF. YOU'RE GOOD KISSER THINA. GOODNIGHT.

Her response: SO ARE YOU ERIK. GOODNIGHT

That night both Erik could not sleep. All he could think about was Thina and his dick was as hard as a rock. After getting up and taking a cold shower in the crazy hours of the night he went back to bed but he still could not get any sleep.